Beats on the Pavement
by giacomo's opus
Summary: It was suppose to be the happiest day of their lives.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: It was suppose to be the happiest day of their lives.

Pairing: Callie/Arizona

Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy.

A/N: This is my first Grey's fic, so I am kind of testing the waters. This takes place about a year in the future following the season 6 finale. Disregards everything in season 7 so far. I don't have a beta, so all the mistakes are my own. Oh and I'm not a doctor therefore medical stuff might be a little off although I try to research as best I can.

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_It was suppose to be the happiest day of their lives…_

**Present**

"Karev grab Grey and Yang and meet me outside in ten," Dr. Miranda Bailey yelled to the resident as she hung up the phone behind the desk in the emergency room of Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital.

"What do we have?" Trauma surgeon Owen Hunt questioned rounding the corner.

"18 wheeler versus limo, three casualties coming in," Dr. Bailey told him grabbing a trauma gown and heading for the doors.

"ETA?"

"Ten minutes on the first two, apparently one is still trapped."

"Do we know what we have coming in?" Teddy Altman asked the duo as she dawned her own trauma gown.

"One coming from the limo and the other coming from the truck," Bailey said snapping her gloves on.

"One's still trapped," Hunt lamented as the group was joined by Yang, Grey, and Karev.

Several minutes later the ambulance rounded the bin, sirens blaring, and pulled into the bay. The doors snapped open and two paramedics wheeled a middle-aged man towards the group.

"Gary Rowling, 52 years old, blood pressure 110/78, pulse 80, pulsox 95," the male paramedic called out as Hunt, Kavev, and Grey stepped forward to grab the rails of the stretcher.

"He the truck driver?" Hunt asked.

"Yeah, laceration to the face and possible broken leg, but otherwise he's good," the paramedic answered.

"Ok, lets go Grey, Karev," Hunt started only to interrupted by the paramedic.

"Blood alcohol levels off the charts."

Owen nodded as he fought to keep the anger from showing on his face. He had seen a lot during his tours in Iraq, the worst of what humans could do to each other. But people that chose to drive drunk, purposely putting innocent people in danger undoubtedly topped his most hated list. He would remain professional as always when dealing with a patient, but knowing the guy in front of him was the reason two more people would be in the ER tonight would get Mr. Rowling no special treatment.

However, by the end of the night, Owen Hunt would want to do much more to his patient than deny him special treatment.

The second ambulance roared into the bay only moments later. As the doors opened this time though, the three remaining surgeons found themselves unable to move.

The fact that their victim was clearly in a wedding dress was cause enough to make the stoic Miranda Bailey cringe, but who was in the wedding dress sent the general surgeon reeling.

"unidentified, 32 year old female, blood pressure 100/60, pulse 72, pulsox 92," the paramedic began unaware of what was occurring, "in and out of consciousness, was thrown from the vehicle, possible broken right arm and clavical, open laceration to the right temple."

The paramedic turned when he realized the doctors in front of him hadn't moved, "Dr. Bailey?" he questioned having been familiar with the surgeon, "do you know her or something?"

"Callie?" Teddy whispered, horrified at the sight in front of her.

Dr. Callie Torres lay unconscious on a stretcher just feet in front of her, wearing what hours earlier had been a pristine white wedding dress. Now the flowing material was streaked with dirt and dry blood, the skirt torn in several places. It was not at all how Teddy had remembered it.

A soft voice broke the frozen crowd from their stupor.

"Ari?" Callie tried to get out through the mask that covered her face and nose.

Surprisingly it was Cristina Yang who recovered first.

"Callie, its Cristina, you were in an accident, do you know where you are?" the Asian asked moving to her former roommate's side.

Callie's head lulled to the left as confused eyes tried to clear the fog from her brain.

"Ari?" she tried again hoping Cristina would understand.

Hearing the whisper leave Callie's lips, Cristina's head snapped up towards Bailey.

The action sent Bailey into doctor mode once again, as she quickly took over the stretcher from the paramedic and began to roll Callie towards the ER.

"Everything is going to be fine Dr. Torres," Bailey told her colleague with as much assurance in her voice as possible.

The small Nazi then turned back to a still stunned Teddy Altman who had been following the stretcher in a daze.

"Teddy, Teddy!" Bailey called gripping the woman by the wrist.

Teddy finally snapped out of it and met her gaze.

"Find Arizona," she said firmly but softly as not to alert the entire ER to what was happening.

Teddy's eyes widened before she quickly sprinted back towards the ambulance bay.

Miranda Bailey reached out a hand to steady herself as she watched Teddy disappear.

'This wasn't happening,' she denied to herself, 'not today, not after everything that had happened today.'

Hunt stopped abruptly from shedding his trauma gown as he emerged from the curtain when he noticed the look on Bailey's face.

"Did the first vic arrive?" he asked her wondering silently how bad it had to be for Miranda to be out in the pit instead of in the trauma room.

Bailey could only nod her head.

"Do you want me to take it?"

"Its Callie," She muttered so softly the trauma surgeon almost missed it.

"What's Callie, Dr. Bailey?" Owen couldn't connect the pieces.

"The first vic, its Callie," she whispered again just as quietly.

Owen felt his body straightening in surprise. That didn't make sense. He had just seen Callie Torres hours earlier at her wedding. She couldn't be the victim in the trauma room, that didn't make sense.

But then it hit him.

18 wheeler versus a limo,

A limo that had been carrying Callie and Arizona,

Arizona

"Miranda where is Arizona?" Owen put his hands on the small women's shoulders.

Her expression said it all.

"Go help Callie, I'll find Arizona," he told her.

She hesitated for a moment before she seeming to gather her thoughts, "Dr. Altman is out there already," she pointed back towards the doors.

He took off in a jog as Bailey headed towards trauma one.

Owen burst through the doors of the emergency room to find Teddy engaged in what seemed to be a pretty heated argument with the paramedic.

"I don't care if another ambulance is already there," she practically screamed into the stunned man's face, "the trapped victim is a doctor at this hospital and you are going to take me to her."

Owen placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and squared his jaw at the paramedic, "I'm Dr. Hunt, trauma attending here, and I am going to need you to take me back to the scene."

The paramedic nodded.

Teddy seemed about to say something else, but Owen stopped her before she could, "Go inside and help Bailey."

She was about to protest again but instead only nodded her head. Her best friend was out there trapped and hurt and she wanted nothing more than to be with Arizona, but the doctor side of her knew she would be more of a mess on scene than a help. Owen would find her, Owen would bring Arizona back.

"Owen," she started turning back to face the man already climbing into the back of the ambulance.

"I know," he nodded, "I'll bring her back."

**Earlier that day…**

An annoying buzzing sound had the sleeping women reaching for the offending alarm clock only to find that it was not the cause of her abrupt wakeup.

She groggily fumbled around the nightstand until her fingers finally latched onto her cell phone.

Glancing at the caller id through sleep filled eyes, the women couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

Flipping it open, she answered, "Good morning wife."

Giggles were heard on the other side, "Not yet, but soon love."

"Just practicing," the raven-haired women rolled over onto her back draping an arm over her eyes to keep the morning sun from blinding her.

"You're a goof."

"Yeah but you love me."

"Damn right I do," the blonde caller laughed.

"Why did you suggest we sleep apart the day before are wedding again?" Callie groaned as she reached out a hand to the spot her fiancée normally occupied. Waking up to Arizona's adorable snores was Callie's favorite part of the day. Arizona called her a 'sleep stalker' after all the times Callie had been caught watching her lover sleep. But she couldn't help it; she could lie in bed all day just drinking in the blonde's features, running a hand through perfectly wavy locks, kissing perfectly kissable dimples.

"Calliope its tradition for you not to see the bride the day of the wedding," Arizona said exasperated.

"I know," Callie's whine was reminiscent of a small toddler's, "but I miss you."

Arizona laughed again, "Baby you saw me yesterday, and it will only be a few more before you see me again."

Callie smiled imagining the blonde walking down the aisle towards her.

"I can't wait to marry you Arizona Robbins."

"I can't wait to marry you either Callipe Torres."

"It's going to be the best day ever," Callie told her soon to be wife.

"The happiest day of our lives baby," Arizona agreed.

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**A/N**: Let me know what you think and if I should continue.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews so far, they are really awesome. I know it's an incredibly sad story line, but its something that has been running around in my head and won't go away. Give it a chance though because you will continue to get glimpses of Calzona's wedding and remember as Emerson said, "When it is darkest, one sees the stars."

Also flashback scenes are marked and italicized to help with confusion.

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**Present**

"We aren't going to be able to stay. We got another call, so you are going to have to find your own way back," the paramedic told Owen as the ambulance swerved its way through the stalled traffic.

The trauma surgeon only nodded consumed once again by his thoughts. Since jumping in the back of the ambulance, Owen had been running through everything that had happened that day over and over again in his head. Glancing at his watch that read 0140, he tried to piece together the string of events.

**_Earlier: 0700_**

"_Captain Crunch with soy," Owen said placing a bowl down in front of his groggy girlfriend._

"_You're too happy, stop it," Cristina Yang grumbled as she slid onto the stool at the breakfast bar._

"_Come on Cristina even you can't be grumpy today," he told her._

_She shot him a look as if to say, 'you wanna bet.'_

"_But it's a wedding, two of our friends' wedding for that matter." He knew Cristina would still be grumpy, but after all this time of dealing with her moods, it was kind of fun to mess with her._

_Cristina snorted, "first of all I don't have friends. Second, Seattle Grace doesn't exactly have the best track record with weddings." _

_Owen only chuckled, well aware of how his girlfriend worked. She may deny it openly, but the scalpel monster cared a lot for her two 'non-friends.' When Cristina had moved in with Owen into their own apartment, she had sulked for weeks complaining he didn't cook the chicken like Callie did or leave the latest edition of the cardiologist journal on the coffee table as Arizona always had for her. One day Owen had made an off handed comment that if he didn't know any better he would say his girlfriend actually missed her former roommates. That had gotten him four days on the couch, but at least he had the satisfaction that he was right. _

"_Why are they getting married anyways," Cristina continued, "Seriously, it'll ruin everything." _

_While Owen could agree that the track record for weddings at Seattle Grace wasn't exactly great – Burke and Cristina (he didn't really like to dwell on that one), Callie and George (probably not the right day to think of that one either), Alex and Izzie (well at least the ceremony was nice), and well then of course there was the post-it wedding (but hey, Derek and Meredith were still going strong.). _

_But this was Arizona and Callie. If they couldn't be happy, then Owen figured he would never put to use the box that sat in his nightstand drawer. _

"_No, they're going to make it," he answered and he wasn't just saying that._

**Present: 0145**

Owen grabbed the trauma kit and jumped out of the back of the still slightly moving ambulance. His heart hammered in his chest as he surveyed the scene in front of him.

Sirens of all colors illuminated the overcast Seattle night sky. Being September there was a slight bite to the air that penetrated his navy blue scrubs, but Owen barely noticed. He recognized the intersection, one fairly notorious for its accidents. He flashed his medical badge to a policeman in charge of the barricade and was halted in his tracks when the overturned vehicles came into view.

The 18-wheeler was tipped on its right side, broken glass and debris spread along the length of the bed. Owen could see how Rowling was able to escape with only a broken leg and some cuts, as the driver door to the cab remained largely unscathed. It was the front of the cab, however, that instantly got his attention. Because pinned between it and a concrete guardrail was a crumpled black limousine.

He didn't hesitate any longer running towards the rescue crew that stood huddled close to the back of the black car.

"Whoa buddy who are you," one asked as Owen approached.

"Dr. Owen Hunt, Head of Trauma surgery at Seattle Grace-Mercy West," Owen said flashing his badge again.

The guy nodded and pointed towards two paramedics kneeling on the ground, "One still trapped. We're going to try to go in through the top once the tow truck gets here to move the 18 wheeler."

"How long?" Owen asked.

The fireman cringed slightly, "twenty minutes at least."

Owen's eyes widened, that was a hell of a long time in a situation like this, "what are her injuries?"

"Not sure, you'll have to talk to those guys," he answered nodding towards the paramedics, "but it doesn't look good."

The fireman was saying something else along the lines of 'how did you know it was a she,' but Owen was already racing away.

Owen didn't know he had been holding his breath until he rounded the overturned cab and the air was expelled from his body like he had been knocked in the chest with a sledge hammer. He couldn't see Arizona yet, but the smell of oil, glass, and blood assaulted his nostrils immediately. One paramedic had turned to retrieve something from his bag while another stayed next to the side of the vehicle.

"You from Grace-West?" the one leaning over the bag asked, but Owen ignored him making his was directly towards the limo.

The other paramedic next to the vehicle was talking, and as Owen approached he thanked whatever power there was that at least Arizona was still conscious.

Conscious was good, much better than unconscious.

When the trauma surgeon got his first view of his blonde friend, however, he knew that there was nothing remotely good about anything.

The back passenger side door was no longer visible as the cab of the truck seemed to mold in to the black metal of the limo.

Coming alongside what was now a shattered side window, Owen nudged the paramedic. The women seemed to recognize him the sympathy clearly radiating from her eyes. She didn't say anything as she moved out of the way to let Owen closer.

He quickly realized why words weren't necessary.

It was obvious Arizona had been sitting in the rear right seat of the limousine's large back seat. It was a miracle the impact hadn't killed her instantly. Instead it had trapped her between the shattered door and the bowed in metal where the other side had hit the guardrail. Blood, dried and fresh, ran down her face and particularly her right eye from cuts both shallow and deep. He knew without a doubt that her right arm and leg were shattered, but what caused the emotion to rise in his chest was the large shard of glass that protruded from his friend's abdomen.

"Owen," a soft voice broke him from his observations, and he pushed down his fear to meet pain filled blue eyes.

"Hey Arizona," he replied forcing a smile.

"Callie?" she whispered her eyes lifting in worry.

"She's fine Arizona," Owen told her assuredly, although he realized for the first time that he had no idea how Callie was. He had rushed out of the ER before he could check, but judging by the fact that the orthopedic surgeon had obviously been expelled from the vehicle that gave her a much better shot at being okay.

The blonde let her eyes close in relief.

"We need to get an IV in her," the female paramedic said quietly, "be we haven't been able to get to her."

Owen nodded and picked up his bag. He had been prepared for this. Paramedic protocol didn't allow for any person to enter a vehicle if conditions were deemed unsafe by the rescue team. But Owen didn't care and he definitely was not going to sit there and let Arizona suffer when there was a way he could help her.

"What are you doing?" the male paramedic shouted trying to stop Owen from entering the limo from the front passenger door.

A hand to the man's chest and a stern look from his partner brought him up short.

Owen maneuvered carefully to avoid the pieces of metal sticking out in all directions. The vehicle groaned with the added weight to its already broken frame, but it held.

Finally slipping past one last piece of precarious looking shard, Owen made it to Arizona's side.

"Show off," the blonde laughed weakly.

He allowed a chuckle to escape before his look turned more serious, "I need to start a line," he told her reaching into his bag for IV equipment and a bag of O neg. She nodded as her eyes slid closed again.

"Nuh uhh Arizona none of that," Owen said squeezing her left knee slightly, "You know the drill, gotta keep your eyes open."

It looked like it was a fight, but eventually Arizona's eyes cracked open to look at him.

"Talk to me," he instructed bringing her left foot up slightly to start the IV line on the vein at the inside of her ankle, "tell me something."

Arizona took a deep breath desperately trying to keep away the painless dark oblivion that was calling to her.

"Like what?" she barely whispered.

Owen had now moved to start another line at her left hand to transfuse blood she badly needed. He didn't know if it was a good idea to bring up the days earlier events, but he figured talking about Callie was a good way to keep his friend awake.

"Tell me about Callie."

Arizona managed a smile at the thought of her Calliope. "We're married, she's my wife now."

He grinned at her in response as he took her wrist pulse. "I know," he hesitated slightly before adding, "The ceremony was amazing Arizona."

Owen expected a sad reaction from the peds surgeon at remembering how not so long ago her life had been a whirlwind of love and happiness, but instead she surprised him with an even wider smile, one that reached her now sparkling azure eyes.

And he realized that she had smiled the same one only a few hours earlier as Arizona Robbins had leaned in to claim her new wife's lips.

"The happiest day of my life," Arizona muttered softly allowing a single tear filled with nothing but unequivocal joy to make its way gently down her bruised cheek.

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A/N: Thoughts? I open to any and all... the good, the bad, and the ugly!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: First and foremost thank you to everyone who has reviewed, alerted, and forvorited this fic. The responses have been really awesome and only make me want to get chapters out to you all that much quicker. I am not sure I am 100% happy with this update, but it is somewhat of a filler so I won't sweat it too much. I promise to have many more Calzona moments in the near future.

Oh and not sure why I didn't realize this before, but after watching Grey's last night, I found out Owen and Cristina are actually married. Guess I missed that episode, but for the sake of this fic I think I am going to keep them as boyfriend-girlfriend, unless there are any adamant objections. Sorry for the confusion.

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**Present- 01:33**

Mark Sloan was having a good day. Not that most of his days weren't good, in fact since he and Lexie had gotten back together nearly a year ago, Mark would have to admit that his days were bordering on great.

But today, today Mark conceded as he grinned to no one in particular was near fantastic. Not only were he and Lexie about to celebrate their one year anniversary in a couple of day, but hours earlier he had watched two of his best friends get married.

"Top of the morning to ya," he said unnaturally happy as the elevator doors slid open to reveal Derek Sheppard.

"A little early for chipper don't you think," the neurosurgeon replied leaning against the back of the lift.

Mark just smirked, "What are you doing here anyways oh great one?"

"Emergency craniotomy, and just got paged to the pit. You?"

"Same, well without the craniotomy."

"Did anyone get the night off?" Derek questioned referring to the group that had earlier attended Callie and Arizona's wedding.

"Just Callie and Arizona I think," chuckled Mark.

**Earlier- 09:00 **

"_Mark! Mark!" _

_The sound of someone screaming his name and banging on his door had the plastic surgeon sitting straight up in bed. _

"_Whaz goin on?" came the sleepy slur from his left._

"_Sounds like Bridzilla," Mark begrudgingly grabbed his pants off the floor and pulled them on._

_Lexie grumbled something unintelligible while throwing the closest pillow over her head to try and drown out the noise._

_Stumbling his way over the mess left from the previous nights festivities, Mark finally reached the latch and yanked open the door._

"_Christ Torres." His hands shot to his face as Callie's still knocking fist slammed into his nose._

_The raven-haired tornado didn't seem to notice as she pushed her way past him and flopped dramatically onto the sofa._

"_I lost it!" she cried, dramatically throwing her head into her hands._

"_Lost what?" Mark asked still trying to clear the multicolored dots from his vision._

_But Callie again ignored him already launching into a rant in Spanish._

_Mark glanced up to see Lexie now standing in the kitchen a confused look painted on her face. He merely shrugged in response and began filling up the coffee maker with water. His girlfriend decided not to question why there was a raving Latina pacing their living room so early in the morning and began cracking eggs for omelets._

_By the time Callie had calmed down and stopped yelling in Spanish, the couple was sitting at the breakfast bar munching on their omelets and sharing the morning paper. _

"_I'm sorry I came to talk to my best friend and must have stepped into the wrong apartment," Callie had stopped pacing to glare at the couple who were not paying any attention to her. "because it seems only the Cleavers are home!" _

"_I don't speak Spanish," Mark commented between bites._

"_Oh right, yeah" Callie muttered apologetically collapsing on an empty barstool while grabbing a piece of toast from Mark's plate._

"_Cold feet?" Mark questioned teasingly over the sports section. _

"_What? No!" Callie replied quickly, her gaze finding its way to her feet as she added somewhat incoherently, "Ikindalostthering."_

"_Huh?" Mark's head shot back over the paper with a raised eyebrow._

"_Ikindalostthering." She said again just as muddled._

_Lexie gasped as Mark's head swiveled between the two clearly still not having understood._

"_Callie!" Lexie yelled in shock._

"_I know, I know," the orthopedic surgeon groaned banging her head on the countertop._

"_Well don't just sit there, get up! We have to find it," Lexie was already pulling Callie from her seat and towards the door._

_The two were out the door before Mark could register what had happened. _

"_Find what?" he called not having moved from his stool. He shrugged as he got no response. Standing to head to the shower, Mark noticed something in the pocket of his jeans. A giant grin spread across the best man's face as he pulled out the square box his friend had given him yesterday for safe keeping. _

'_Ah, a half hour won't hurt' he figured, his grin turning mischievous. _

**Present- 01:36**

The two surgeons rounded the corner into the emergency room and made their way to the nurses' station.

"You rang," Mark cocked a coy grin at the brunette sitting behind the desk. Derek rolled his eyes at his friends never changing antics.

The nurse's grim face, however, wiped the grin from both of their faces.

"What do we have?" Derek asked this time seriously. The pit was pretty quiet tonight and it didn't appear to be a major trauma with many victims, but something in the nurse's expression was definitely troubling.

Somewhat struggling to get the words out past her emotions, the nurse motioned to trauma one, "In there," she barely whimpered.

Derek and Mark both glanced at each other perplexed before striding towards what seemed to be a hectic trauma one.

Pushing open the doors, Mark was about to make his usual sarcastic entrance when Miranda Bailey stepped abruptly into his path.

"Whoa," Mark quipped obviously not noticing the tension that permeated from the small room, "you need to work on your welcoming face Bailey."

The plastic surgeon wasn't surprised when he didn't even get a sliver of a smile from his small and mighty colleague, but he was a little confused as to why she didn't immediately have a sarcastic comment to shoot back at him. That was how they worked, a sarcastic comment here, a snide remark in return. Banter was their way of conversing.

He was about to try again, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Mark looked at Derek questioningly before meeting Miranda's eyes. Oddly he noticed something different in the way she was looking at him. Was that sympathy?

"Dr. Sloan," Bailey started only to be interrupted by a pained moan from behind her.

"Ari?" The weak voiced barely reached Mark ears and he was immediately pushing his way past the several nurses and residents blocking his path.

The sight before him felt like running into a brick wall at a full out sprint. Mark shook his head to try and clear his vision because what his eyes were seeing wasn't possible. No, his best friend was on her way to Spain right now, not lying in front of him on a trauma table.

"Slaon," the calling of his name brought the surgeon forcefully back to reality. Bailey and Sheppard were talking in the corner quietly as Teddy, Meredith, and Karev worked continually around Callie.

He looked up to see Yang staring at him intently.

"What happened?" he barked.

"Some idiot broadsided them at an intersection." The look on Cristina's face told him it was more than that though.

Mark gazed over his friend's battered body. Her right arm was most likely broken just below the elbow as the armed bowed at an awkward angle. He cringed as he noticed the force of some type of impact had caused the right clavicle to break out of the skin completely. Various cuts and scrapes adorned most of the right side of her body and Mark's heart sunk as he noticed Karev carefully trying to dislodge pieces of asphalt from the skin. He realized why Derek had been paged when his eyes came to the nearly three inch gash at his friend's right ear, blood had already soaked through the bandage and continued to drip down Callie's face.

Mark was startled out of his thoughts when he noticed confused brown eyes trying to focus on him.

"Torres, its Mark, can you hear me?" He grasped her uninjured left hand lightly in his own.

"Mark?" Callie slurred as she tried to get a handle of her surroundings.

"Yeah that's right, do you know where you are?" he asked, Derek and Bailey coming up alongside her other side.

Callie closed her eyes as she tried to find the right answer for Mark's question. Her brain was a mess of sounds and thoughts. Today was an important day she knew, but the pieces floated around like a disconnected jigsaw inside of her head. Willing herself to focus, she tried desperately to connect everything. Where was she? Why was Mark hovering over her worriedly? Where was Arizona?

Arizona

And like a secret pass code had been said, the pieces in Callie's brain connected instantaneously, the days events flooding back like the torrent of a wave.

Her eyes went wide, "Arizona!" she called trying to pull the oxygen mask away from her face.

Mark's eyes went wide too as he realized for the first time that the perky blonde was nowhere in sight.

"Torres you need to calm down," Bailey swooped in to try and restrain the struggling women.

"Where is she? Ari?" Callie ignored Bailey and did her best to sit up. Her injuries screamed at her in protest and it wasn't long before she was forced back onto the table forcefully.

"Torres, Torres! Callie," Bailey yelled finally, "You need to stay calm. Dr. Robbins will be here soon"

Mark shot a questioning look at the general surgeon for her vague answer, but Bailey wouldn't meet his eye.

"NO!" Callie tried once again to lift herself up, "tell me where she is Bailey!"

Bailey now looked to Sheppard, who Mark noticed had been examining the gash at Callie's right ear. The neurosurgeon gave a nod, and Bailey quickly lifted the IV port and syringe that had been in her right hand.

Mark glanced between the two clearly confused, but as Callie's scream for her wife grew silent it became clear.

"No signs of bleeding?" he turned to question Sheppard who had obviously given Bailey the go ahead to sedate Callie.

"No, just mild concussion." Derek shook his head. The gash was fairly large, but whatever impact had caused it hadn't led to any apparent inter-cranial pressure or bleeding. "I want a CT to confirm."

Mark nodded his focus turning to the lingering question hanging heavily in the room.

"Where is she," Mark clenched his teeth trying to force someone to meet his glare.

The room went eerily silent save for the machine keeping track of Callie's heartbeats.

Finally it was Cristina who turned to address him, and he could tell she was fighting very un-Yank like emotion. "Blondie's still trapped."

Mark let the words sink in. When Bailey had said that Arizona was on her way, he figured she had meant it literally. But this, this was different.

"What happened?" Mark was standing now trying his best to control the anger that flooded through him.

Cristina seemed to contemplate her answer. An answer he could tell was about to make his anger ten times worse. The resident finally steeled herself and met his fierce glare with equal anger.

"Drunk Driver," was all he registered before Mark was pushing past machines and nurses to get to the doorway. He was halfway across the hall that led to the adjacent trauma room when two pairs of strong arms had him around the shoulders pulling him back.

"You don't want to do this," Derek said struggling to keep Mark out of Gary Rowling's room.

"Yes I do," Mark growled as she shoved Karev easily off his other side.

"You can't help them if you are suspended," Derek tried the only route he could think of to stop the plastic surgeon from ripping Rowling's head off.

It appeared to work as Mark stopped struggling and didn't make another move towards the door. He pulled away from Derek's grasp, however, and headed back in the direction of trauma one only to find Teddy and Bailey had already began wheeling Callie towards the elevators.

He expression softened at the sight of his unconscious friend.

"We're going up to fix the compound, and Ford has been called in to set the arm," Bailey told him. Mark winced as he thought of what Callie would say at another orthopedic surgeon, especially Ford, being allowed to fix her broken bones.

"Any internal bleeding?"

"Nothing on the films, but she's got a couple of broken ribs that need to be set, and the gash at the ear needs to be sutured," Bailey said as the elevator opened onto the operating floor.

"I'll do it," Mark told her and the general surgeon nodded.

"Someone needs to contact their families," Bailey added entering the scrub room.

Teddy who had followed the group even though she knew she wouldn't be needed for the surgery spoke up. "I can."

"and Addison," Mark called out to the retreating blonde. The red head had flown in from LA several days ago to help set everything up for the wedding.

Teddy nodded before making her way out of the room.

Glancing through the glass as the surgical team prepped Callie, Mark didn't register the words that slipped quietly from his mouth

"It was suppose to be happy ever after."

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A/N: Please let me know what you think... good, bad, or ugly.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: I'm sorry for the delay, but life happens and I can't really apologize for that. Anyways here is the next chapter, and since seeing the car crash last episode, I feel the event has been done several times; but I'm determined to press on as the story is really going a different direction (not to mention I started it before I even knew there would be a crash). Mistakes are my own, thanks for sticking with me.

* * *

**Present: 0210**

"Ready?" came the call from a firefighter positioned on the roof of the smashed limousine.

"Good to go on this side." Another firefighter adjacent confirmed that the saw was in place to begin cutting into the crumpled metal.

Inside Owen waited anxiously for the confirmation that the team was to start cutting into the vehicle to get Arizona out. Glancing down at the blonde, he realized she had once again slipped unconscious. The past twenty minutes had passed excruciatingly slow. The penetrating wound in Arizona's abdomen remained the biggest problem but thankfully the shard of glass was also working as a barrier keeping blood loss somewhat at bay. Owen knew that removing it would cause problems later but right now keeping it in place without shifting it was vital. While Arizona was able to stay conscious he had assessed her head injury and discovered that her responses were a little delayed but would have to wait for scans and Derek to do anything about it.

"You ready in there Doc?" A fireman stuck his head inside the front passenger window. Owen nodded and readied himself and Arizona with blanket they had been given to shield themselves from debris.

Moments later the harsh screeching of the saw could be heard as Owen juggled holding the blanket and monitoring his friend who had been startled back to consciousness with the noise.

"Hey, there you are," Owen yelled over the noise.

Arizona could only manage a small nod in response.

The sound of the saw stopped abruptly and another call from the fireman told the doctors they would begin peeling back the roof of the car now.

In the now somewhat quieter interior, Owen realized his cell phone had begun ringing. He checked the ID and saw his girlfriend's name flashing across the screen.

"You gonna get that," Arizona whispered, cringing as the simple action sent pain screaming through her chest.

"Its Cristina," he told her hesitantly. He knew she wanted to know what had happened to Callie and if the situation was reversed he would give anything to check on Cristina too, but if something had happened to Callie, the added to strain to an already weakened Arizona could be devastating.

"Please Owen," the blonde begged quietly from behind heavy lids.

He wouldn't deny her. Pressing the button he connected the call.

Christina's voice was serious but concern was immediately evident. "Are you with her?"

"Yes, they're working to get us out."

There was a pause on Christina's end as the surgeon seemed to contemplate asking the next question. "Injuries?"

Owen too hesitated. It was not as though Arizona didn't already know she was in bad shape, but spilling out her condition out in totality right in front of her was something he didn't want to do. "Have Shepherd, Altman, Bailey, and the ortho attending on call standing by."

It was enough for Cristina to understand the severity. "How far are you out?"

The red-headed surgeon lifted the debris blanket to get a look at the firefighter's progress. The roof was almost completely pulled back at this point, and Owen could see the paramedics and rescue team readying themselves to extract Arizona as carefully as possible.

"They're getting ready to lift her out now."

"She's still trapped?" Cristina's voice yelled into his ear instantly.

A small touch to Owen's knee pulled his attention back to Arizona. The blonde was looking at him imploringly and without words he knew what she wanted.

"Cristina, how is Callie?"

His girlfriend didn't answer immediately. "In surgery to repair her clavicle and right arm. Sloan's suturing a laceration to the right temple. We had to sedate her, she was hysterical."

"So she'll be fine?" Owen asked loud enough for Arizona to hear. The peds surgeon was fighting valiantly to hear the answer before unconsciousness took her once again.

"What, Owen you're a surgeon you know exactly what her injuries mean," Cristina shot back exasperated.

Owen tuned out his girlfriend's rant turning back to Arizona, squeezing her hand gently. "She's going to be fine Arizona, a couple of broken bones and a pretty good gash to the forehead." Relief flashed instantly across Arizona's face. Her wife was okay and the information was good enough to allow her eyes to flutter closed once again.

Cristina didn't interrupt seeming to pick up on why Owen was asking about Callie.

Owen checked Arizona's pulse and let out a breath as the blonde seemed to only be unconscious again turned his attention back to his girlfriend. "Cristina?"

"I'm here"

"Once they get us out we'll be seven minutes in transport, have everyone ready. At least three units of AB neg, MRI and Cat scan cleared, and the OR prepped. We aren't stopping in the ER."

"Got it," Cristina told him and it was clear she was in all out Yang-mode.

In a rare move, Owen couldn't help the next sentence from leaving his mouth.

"I love you." He cringed slightly as he knew how Cristina felt about mushy declarations especially while she was working, but he had to tell her.

The other line was quiet for a few beats, and Owen thought Cristina might have already gone, but her uncharacteristically soft response met his ear.

"I love you too."

**Seattle-West: 0200**

Her heels clacked loudly on the hard floor as signal for those in her way to part like the Red Sea, because Addison Montgomery was on a tear and even though she no longer worked at this particular hospital, her reputation preceded her, and everyone knew when Addison Montgomery was on a mission you either got out of the way or got trampled.

The red head rounded the next corner and slammed her hands down on the nurse's station. "I need Mark Sloan paged now!"

The young nurse behind the desk gave the deer-in-headlights looks and trembled slightly at the sight of Addison whose emotions practically danced in physical manifestation around her.

Before Addison could yell at the again, a hand on her shoulder gave her the signal to take a breath for what seemed to be for the first time since she had received a phone call from Teddy nearly 10 minutes prior.

Addison's shoulders slumped as she looked down to gather herself. Taking a deep breath she grabbed the hand on her shoulder in her own and shot a grateful smile at her boyfriend Dr. Sam Bennett. He nodded and turned to the nurse himself.

"Could you please have Dr. Sloan paged immediately, it's important."

The nurse nodded and picked up the phone.

"This can't be real," Addison muttered as the two stepped away from the desk to wait.

Sam gathered his girlfriend into his arms rubbing his hands up and down her back. "It's alright, we'll fix it, everyone here is going to work to fix it."

"Addison!" The calling of her name had Addison whipping around to find Mark Sloan hurrying towards them.

"Mark, what's going on? How bad is it?" She launched at him immediately.

Mark scrubbed his face with his hands. "What did Teddy tell you?"

"Just that there was an accident and Callie and Arizona were involved." Sam told him placing a comforting arm around Addison's shoulders.

"Ok, a call came in about a half hour ago, three vics, two in route and one possibly on the way."

Addison cut in. "So Arizona and Callie are here, are they alright?"

Mark glanced at Sam, and the cardio surgeon tightened his grip on his girlfriend.

"Callie came in first. Broken right arm, compound fracture at the clavicle, large laceration from the ear to the temple, some road rash."

"MRI and CAT scan clean?" Addison questioned instantly.

"Yeah, Derek checked her, Ford has her in the OR now with the Chief. I was just finishing the stitch when I got your page."

"Ok," Addison allowed a breath of relief at the news. "And Arizona?"

Mark's face fell immediately.

"She was the second vic brought in right?" Sam jumped in.

Mark shook his head. "The drunk driver was the second."

Both Sam and Addison's eyes went wide. "Drunk driver!"

In any other situation, Mark would have ribbed the couple good for shouting the same thing at the same time. "Yeah, blood alcohol level was off the chart, ran a red light and slammed into their limo."

It took a minute for Addison to take everything in. Nothing made sense, and yet it made horrible sense. After a moment she noticed both Sam and Mark staring at her worriedly.

"Where is Arizona?" And as she asked it, Addison was never more certain that there was a question she did not want the answer to.

Mark looked down. "I don't know."

"You, you don't know." Addison stuttered in surprise. "what do you mean you don't know?"

"I don't know Addison, but before I went into the OR she was still trapped."

Addison's eyes again went wide but before she could begin to formulate a response Cristina Yang came barreling around the corner.

"Yang," Addison called immediately stopping the surgeon in her tracks.

But the Asian wasn't stopping for small talk, she simply grabbed the sleeves of both Mark and Addison and began pulling them in the direction of the pit.

"Seven minutes out." Was all it took for all the other three doctors to follow at a sprint.

The ambulance bay of Seattle Grace-Mercy West, to an outsider might have looked like an impromptu meeting of all of the department heads of surgery, save a few, however upon closer inspection it was obvious the atmosphere was far from amiable and bordered on anxiety ready to explode.

It was odd how not eight hours earlier the same person could have observed the same group of surgeons and thought the same thing, only to be present to a casual atmosphere filled with very different emotions.

* * *

**Earlier: 6:00 pm**

"Would you stop that," Miranda Bailey scolded Richard Webber as he once again fidgeted with his tie.

The chief of surgery shot her a look but responded in a tone that reminded the general surgeon of her five-year-old son, "but it doesn't look right."

"Oh for heavens sake." And as nimble as if she was performing a surgery Bailey adjusted the knot (having to restrain herself for tightening it too tight). "There"

The chief looked down at his tie knotted perfectly in a half Windsor. "Thank you."

The sun was just beginning to set behind to horizon over the Pudget Sound. The scenic overlook could be described as nothing but breathtaking as rows of white chairs stood in front of an elegant gazebo. The chill to the evening was pleasant and the guests chatted comfortably with each other. It was a small ceremony as only about thirty people had gathered to witness the event.

But for the two who had taken months to plan the day, it was perfect.

Across the aisle and a couple of rows back, Derek Sheppard glanced at his wife seated next to him. "Do you regret it?"

Meredith who had been talking to Cristina next to her turned to face him somewhat confused. "Regret what?"

"Not having all of this."

Meredith looked around, and smiled at the simple yet elegant decorations. She gave her post it husband a soft peck on the lips. "No, it wasn't for us."

Derek grinned. "You're right, but you have to admit this is pretty nice."

"It is," Meredith laughed, "and you better believe Arizona went through hell to get it just right."

"Right, glad we went with a post it then."

Meredith smiled knowingly at her husband.

**Earlier 6:15 PM**

Arizona hummed happily to the beat in her head that was oddly reminiscent of the song "You'll Be in My Heart" from Disney's Tarzan. Sitting in front of the mirror she gave her reflection her signature dimpled smile as she imagined what the next hour would mean.

Calliope was going to be her wife.

Wife.

Such a simple word, one that so many took for granted.

But, honestly, it was a word Arizona never really thought she would use to describe anything in reference to herself. She always figured it was never going to be in the cards for her, first there was the fact that marriage was hard to come by legally for the gay community, and second Arizona had never envisioned herself having a family, chickens yes, a wife and kids no.

But it only took a breathtaking, upset Latina in a dirty bar bathroom to take Arizona's future images and turn them at a complete 180.

And she wouldn't have it any other way, because in about fifteen minutes she was going to be a Calliope's wife.

A knock at the door had her spinning on her stool, the beautiful Grecian style dress flowing gracefully at her sides as she made her way to allow who she thought would be her father into the suite.

Pulling the door open, however, the sight before her had her speechless and frantic at the same time.

'Calliope, what are you doing?" the blonde manage to squeak out in her surprised stupor.

The raven bride couldn't help the trademark Torres grin that played at her lips at her soon to be wife's adorable reaction. While Callie admittedly had been a bit, okay a lot, of a bridezilla during the whole wedding planning process, Arizona had been the one to insist that they stick to tradition as much as possible. And seeing the bride before she came down the aisle was definitely taboo numero uno.

"I couldn't wait to see you," Callie breathed stepping closer to the panicking blonde, "I couldn't go one more minute without touching you," Callie brought her hands to Arizona's hips, "or kissing you," Callie leaned forward and captured Arizona's lips with her own.

Arizona practically melted at her fiancée/ about to be wife's words. Yes she was definitely one to follow traditions, but the sight of her Calliope dressed in the most gorgeous wedding gown she had ever seen, made her want to take tradition and boot it right out the window.

When the couple pulled apart, Arizona gazed lovingly up at her lover. "I love you."

"I love you too, baby," Callie said pushing a stray golden ringlet behind Arizona's ear, "and I can't wait to make you my wife."

"I've always been your wife Calliope," Arizona whispered almost automatically in response.

The following silence had Arizona's eyes snapping up to look at Callie's confused expression, and she realized her suppose to be internal sentiment was said aloud.

Deciding not to spoil anymore traditions by giving away the vowels before the wedding even started, Arizona gave Callie one last kiss before making her way to her father's side, who waited patiently just outside the suite.

Looping her arm through the Colonel's Arizona gave her bride-to-be a hundred watt dimpled grin. "I'll be the one waiting to explain at the end of the aisle."

* * *

A/N: bit of a cliffy, but let me know what you think good, bad, or ugly.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** I was really overwhelmed with the responses for the last chapter and didn't want to keep you waiting. Since the turn around for this chapter is only a couple days, mistakes are likely and it is a bit shorter. Again I'm not a doctor, and don't even play one on tv so medical stuff could be a little out there.

* * *

**Present: 0215**

Dr. Teddy Altman bounced anxiously on her toes. Glancing around at her colleagues beside her she could feel the emotions radiating steadily off every single one of them. Normally Teddy wasn't an anxious person, in fact while serving in theater, situations that would have a normal doctor tucking tail and heading for the hills, she met with a cool head and steady hands. The fact that everyone had called her by her nickname 'Ice T' was usually testament enough.

But now, standing outside the bay doors of the ER waiting for the ambulance carrying her best friend, Teddy Altman couldn't control her anxiety. She wrung her hands together checking her watch yet again.

Only 15 seconds had passed from the last time she looked. 'What the hell is taking so long!' she wanted to scream the internal statement, but deciding everyone most likely felt like yelling the exact same thing, she restrained.

'God, how did this happen?' The thoughts in her head wouldn't be silenced that easily. She had been playing scenarios over and over again since the cardio surgeon had watched the ambulance with Owen pull away. Like practicing for an upcoming surgery, she tried to invasion every move, every detail, but the puzzle pieces weren't connecting.

Amidst the jumble was herself helping the blonde bride zip up the beautiful white gown, watching as the happy couple danced to their first song, loving lost in each others eyes, wiping a tear as she watched Arizona follow Callie down the aisle, her eyes shining with adoration.

After checking her watch once again, she allowed her eyes to close, her mind transporting her back to white gazebo overlooking the Pudget Sound at sunset.

**Earlier: 6:30pm**

Teddy rolled her eyes as Mark Sloan winked at her from across the aisle. As best man and maid of honor, the two had been forced to work together over the past few months for certain aspects of the wedding.

And while she would do anything for Arizona, working together with Mark Sloan (in something other than the occasional, very occasional surgery) was pushing the limits of even their friendship.

A familiar figure a couple of rows back caught her eye, but this time the wink the man gave her was much more appreciated. What had started out as mutual agreement between she and Henry so that he could receive medical care, had along the way grew into something neither of them anticipated. After nearly six months of 'marriage' she came home one night, exhausted from back to back surgeries to find her apartment lights dimmed and the table romantically set. She almost laughed out loud at her initial reaction at finding Henry swearing at the burning pasta sauce. Teddy didn't know exactly where along the way her feelings had started to change for her 'husband,' but as the couple sat down to a delicious, if not slightly burnt, meal she couldn't help the almost giddy feelings of a very good first date.

The soft music from the small string orchestra brought Teddy back to the present, and she gave Henry a wink in return before turning her attention to her best friend making her way towards her.

Arizona's hair was done in loose half up half down style, a few ringlets allowed to freely frame her face. Coupled with the elegant Grecian gown, Arizona truly looked the part of a goddess. The blonde gave her maid of honor a kiss on the cheek and handed over her bouquet of white lilies.

The guests remained standing as the music changed, and a piano joined the stringed quartet in playing The Album Leaf's 'Wishful Thinking.' But Teddy's eyes stayed glued to Arizona, and while everyone watched Callie make her way towards her bride to be, Teddy was privy to a moment truly special.

The subtle yet sharp intake of breath from the blonde bride was sound enough to know Callie had begun her walk down the aisle. The pure love and adoration that shone in azure eyes had tears cascading unabashedly down Teddy's cheeks.

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Finally, the raven-haired bride reached the gazebo and smirked as she handed Mark her flowers. Turning to Arizona, Callie brushed a stray ringlet away from shining blue eyes. The couple then entwined hands and turned to face the ceremony officiator.

The ceremony was simple but genuine, and the officiator finally asked Callie to give her vowels.

"Arizona, my Arizona," Callie began turning to face her partner, eyes already beginning to fill, "you are my heart," the raven-haired bride brought Arizona's hand to her chest, "you are every breath that crosses my lips," she ran Arizona's fingertips across her lips, "you are my soul mate," she brought Arizona's hand to cup her cheek as she reached across to mirror the action. "And I promise to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much you mean to me. I will be your shelter when you are cold, your safe place when times are hard, your nourishment when you are in need. I love you, Ari, and I can't wait to tell you that everyday for all eternity."

Teddy didn't need to look around (even if she could through her own tears) to know that there was not a dry seat in the house. She did however get a good look at Mark Sloan discretely trying to wipe away his own emotions and failing miserably.

"Arizona," the officiator prompted kindly.

Taking a deep breath while trying to reign in her own tears of joy, Arizona lovingly caressed Callie's cheek. "Calliope, my Calliope," she smiled ready to explain her comment from earlier, "I have always been your wife. I didn't need a white dress, or a piece of paper to tell me what my heart has known all along. I could swim across the widest ocean and climb the tallest mountain, but I have always, always found my home, my life in you. From now until forever, I promise to adore you Calliope, and love you deeper and more tenderly than anyone has every known. I promise to stand beside you as a good man through the storms, and as the unwavering support through your victories. Your sorrows shall be my sorrows, your pain my pain, your joy my joy. I love you Calliope with every breath, with every kiss, and with every beat of my heart."

Teddy gazed in awe at the couple before her, put through so much yet standing in front of her, stronger and more in love than ever. And as the couple exchanged rings, and shared the long awaited kiss, Teddy knew she had witnessed something one thought could only happen in fairytales.

**Present: 0220 **

Another look at her watch.

Five more minutes gone.

Her head snapped up as the faint wail of sirens could be heard through the night air. Around her, doctors braced themselves, standing at the ready to receive what awaited them in that ambulance.

A colleague, a friend, a member of their family.

The blue and red lights bounced of the walls of the ambulance bay, the vehicle coming to an abrupt halt in front of the them. Once last deep breath passed the cardio god's lips, this was it, she was going to do everything in her power to give that fairytale its happy ending.

The doors immediately swung open, and Owen jumped down already shouting out injuries and vitals. "BP 80/40, heart rate 47, pulsox 85, temp 102.7." The stretcher carrying Arizona was lowered carefully but quickly and while Teddy imagined her friend would be in bad shape, never had she imagined a nearly foot long shard of glass impaling Arizona just below the ribs.

Teddy was pulled from her shock at a featherlike touch to her hand. Her eyes snapped away from the glass shard to meet panic and pain filled blue eyes.

Tenderly Teddy ran a soft hand along Arizona's forehead. "Everything's going to be alright, Arizona, you hear me. You just got keep looking at me okay." Teddy was joined by Bailey, Shepherd, and the Chief as Arizona's was rolled through the doors and directly to the waiting elevator. Owen was still listing off injuries, and barking orders at anxiously waiting residents. "Two units given in the field, Karev get another IV open and push fluids. Grey hang another unit of AB neg. Yang be ready to intubate."

The team of nearly 10 doctors rushed through to the waiting OR, Teddy's hand never leaving Arizona's. Deciding to skip the ER would save time, but scans still had to be done, and decisions made before getting in there to fix the problems was even a possibility.

"Arizona, its Derek," the neurosurgeon came into view just in the blonde's field of cloudy vision, "can you squeeze Dr. Altman's hand for me?" Teddy waited and after a moment gave Derek a slight shake of her head to indicate Arizona's hand hadn't moved.

Arizona tried her best respond to what was going on around her, but all she could feel was the pain crashing over her in waves as the adrenaline receded from her body. She knew Derek was asking her questions, but the dots from her brain to her mouth and limbs couldn't connect. She could feel her eyes begin to close, as the doctors and nurses continued to move around her in frenzy.

"Arizona, keep your eyes open," Teddy's voice barely registered through the heaviness, "come on Z, just a little longer."

But it was no use as the blonde's eyes drifted shut and monitors exploded throughout the operating room.

"Damn it, she's in vfib." Hunt called, "Paddles."

An uproar started instantly.

"paddles will shift the glass"

"we can't wait to crack her"

Finally a whistle, brought silence, save for the ominous monitor. "Everyone quiet," Cristina barked. She then gestured to her husband to decipher the situation.

Owen looked around to the other attendings standing beside him knowing that every second they waited had dire consequences.

"Cracking her will take to long," Teddy confirmed.

"We take out the shard, shock her back into rhythm and find the bleeders," Bailey suggested firmly.

Owen nodded and waited as Bailey and the Chief positioned themselves to remove the shard.

"Yang, Karev with me," Bailey instructed.

The two residents moved swiftly beside their mentor ready with the necessary tools to staunch the flow of blood that would come quickly.

Bailey gave Owen the count. "On three"

"Charge to 300," Owen called, "everyone else clear."

Reluctantly Teddy extracted her vice life grip on Arizona's chilled hand.

"One… two… three."

The sound of glass being pulled from Arizona's body, had Teddy turning to empty the contents of her stomach in the nearest tray.

"clear," Owen yelled pressing the paddles against Arizona's chest.

The blonde's body arched slightly from the gurney, the blood from the gaping wound in her abdomen already creating a pool.

"nothing," Meredith Grey's voice shook noticeably.

"charge 350, damn it Robbins don't you do this!" Owen positioned the paddles again,"clear!"

Silence, and then…

Beep…..beep

"We have a heartbeat, she's back."

The relief was short lived, however, as Bailey's team immediately went to work to staunch the blood flowing from the gaping wound.

Teddy quickly wiped her mouth and allowed a nurse to tie a new mask around her. Grabbing a stool she positioned herself next to Arizona's head, brinigng a hand to gently caress her friend's forehead. And as the team of doctors around her worked desperately to save the blonde, Teddy didn't really know if she believed in a higher but she knew for sure that she really, really wanted to keep her faith in fairytales.

* * *

**A/N**: Let me know what you think, especially about the wedding scene (as sappy isn't really my forte) and keeping Teddy in character (I struggled with that) good, bad or ugly.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: First and foremost, thank you everyone for the reviews and alerts, seriously you're awesome! For those who have been waiting patiently for Callie's reaction, you're wish is my command. Again mistakes are my own (especially the one from last chapter where I spelled wedding vows like vowels, had a good laugh at myself for that one).

* * *

**Present 0748**

It was like floating at first. The area surrounding her senses enclosing her like a cocoon that was neither solid nor fragile. To be honest, she would not have mind staying a little longer, but something pulled at her conscious, forcing her to enter what she could only describe as heaviness.

She tested her mobility now, previously unable to get her body to react to any commands of movement. Surprisingly this time she felt her fingers graze across a scratchy surface. It was then that the heaviness grew in intensity, and she registered that she was in a lying position atop a surface, light pressure coming from something draped across her top.

Now if she could only open her eyes.

After several attempts, she was ready to say screw it and go back to the floating. But suddenly, there was another type of sensation against her hand. It felt suspiciously like it was being squeezed, and acting on instinct, she squeezed back.

The heaviness was fading more quickly now essentially knocking down the wall that had blocked her senses. She heard voices, not clearly, but certainly voices.

She again willed her eyes to open, and this time felt her lids flutter.

The voices grew louder now and she not only deciphered what they were saying, but she now recognized them.

"Come on Cal, you're so close, open your eyes."

She knew Addison didn't like being ignored, and so she did as she was told.

The light that assaulted her eyes made her close them again immediately. But after a minute of slowly allowing them to adjust, a somewhat blurry silhouette of her red-headed best friend came into focus.

"Thatta girl, there you are." Addison was smiling down softly at her.

And before she could think about it, Callie mumbled out a response, "wh.. where did I go?"

A chuckle from the opposite side of her bed brought her attention to the another person in the room.

"Good to see you Torres," Mark's tone kinder than Callie ever remembered it being before.

Callie again wanted to ask where exactly she had been gone too, but before she could, she glanced around at the rest of the room.

A hospital room.

The heart monitor immediately picked up pace, as Callie's confusion grew into panic. She tried to get up from the bed, but was restrained not only by her concerned friends, but by the pain that radiated like lightning from her right side.

"Whoa, Cal, take it easy," Addison was pushing her gently back into the pillows.

Moments later she felt the tell tell burn of morphine entering her IV, the pain receding ever so slightly in its wake.

"What happened?" Callie asked regaining some sense of ease. When she didn't get an immediate answer and caught the hesitance expressions Addison and Mark were passing, however, Callie asked again more urgently.

Mark nodded to Addison, who in turn sat down on the edge of Callie's bed and took her hand.

"There was an accident," she started, the tears already clouding her eyes, "do you remember anything?"

It was then that something clicked in Callie's mind, and through the drug induced haze one name screamed out loudly at her.

She shot bolt up right in the bed, the monitor once again registering her panic. "Arizona!" she yelled out, searching frantically around the room for the blonde.

She pushed away the arms trying to keep her in the bed, and attempted to swing her legs over the side. "Arizona!" Callie tore at the wires connected to her body, adrenaline serving to push away the pain for the moment.

"Where is she?" she turned desperately to Addison and Mark, who were trying to stop her progress. "Tell me where she is!"

"Torres… Callie. Dr. Torres!" Miranda Bailey's voice silenced the entire room. "get back in that bed this instant."

Normally, when Bailey took that tone, people not only listened, they cowered, and then did exactly as they were told.

But Callie was on a mission.

"Bailey, tell me where she is." Callie demanded, her eyes blazing with worry and anger.

"Get back in that bed, and act like an adult and I will," the general surgeon shot back, crossing her arms across her chest and raising a signature eyebrow. She could not imagine waking up to discover the love of your life not by your side after being told there was an accident, but someone had to get Callie calm or she would only do herself more damage.

Callie seemed to contemplate her options for a moment, and while her first instinct was to bolt towards the door, she knew she wouldn't make it far. Compliance was the only way to find Arizona it appeared, and more than anything that was what she wanted right now.

"Fine," she grumbled allowing Addison to help her resettle in the bed and reattach the necessary wires.

Back on the bed however, her anger suddenly melted into all out fear.

Closing her eyes and sinking into the pillows, she swallowed the large lump forming in her throat.

Logic took over.

_Arizona wasn't there, and if Arizona wasn't there, she was somewhere else, and if she was somewhere else after an accident then wherever she was, was not good. _

A sob escaped her throat, the tears spilling from her eyes, as she curled into herself and now attempted to shut out everything around her. Suddenly she didn't want to know the truth, she wanted to pretend. Pretend that wherever Arizona was it was uncomplicated and normal. _Yes, Arizona was just getting coffee, or checking on her patients, rolling around on her ridiculous heelys_. Then it dawned on her, and Callie knew exactly where her love was.

She released a relieved sigh, the tears stopping abruptly to be replaced with a hint of a smile.

The other three in the room, looked worriedly at each other as the women in front of them seemed to do a complete 180, and then went right to 270. Angry, stubborn Callie had morphed into sobbing, almost incoherent Callie who then went to smiling, almost content Callie in the span of only seconds.

It was decidedly frightening to those watching on.

Ever since Addison and Mark had been allowed to sit with Callie following the surgery to repair her ribs and clavicle, they had debated how to break the news. They even discussed the anger and utter sadness that would come, but they weren't prepared for the entire range of those emotions in such a short rollercoaster, only to have the Latina smiling by the end. It left them speechless.

Bailey, however, sat down opposite Addison on the bed and placed a hand on Callie's leg.

"Callie," she looked for some sort of indication that the women on the bed was listening, "Callie, Arizona is here. I can tell you about her if you want me to."

She paused to wait for Callie to respond, and after receiving only silence she decided to press on.

But Callie's soft voice stopped her.

"Ari's not here Bailey, I know where she is."

Bailey's brows creased in confusion, but it was Addison who spoke, brushing a soothing hand through her friend's hair. "What do you mean Cal?"

Callie opened her eyes, but didn't turn to face anyone in the room. She chose instead to stare blankly out the window, as if privy to an image they couldn't see.

"She's waiting for me at the alter."

**Earlier 6:25pm**

C_allie closed her eyes as she heard the soft notes of the string quartet float freely through the soft breeze. An unconscious smile graced her lips thinking of Arizona making her way down the aisle, blonde hair blowing slightly in the evening breeze, adorable blush gracing her ebony cheeks from all the eyes watching her._

_The beautiful image was truly testing Callie's ability to wait patiently. After so much waiting and planning, she wanted nothing more than to just be able to call Arizona her wife._

_Arizona was going to be her wife_

_The words made Callie's smile grow into a full-blown ear to ear grin._

_A tap on her shoulder, however, had her image disappearing as she turned to find her father giving her a knowing smirk._

_Carlos laughed at his daughters blush, "Now don't go sprinting off without me mija, you will be able to call her your own soon."_

_Callie wasn't surprised at her father's ability to read her so well, and only nodded as she wrapped her arms securely around him._

_He sighed slightly and returned her embrace with equal force. "te amo mija."_

_"te amo papa."_

_The two released their hold, and Carlos used the pad of his thumb to tenderly brush away a tear that had escaped down his daughter's cheek._

_He knew how far they had come, and while he didn't know if he would ever be able to fully give his Calliope away, he could think of no better person of entrusting his little girl with than Arizona Robbins._

_"You are truly breathtaking Calliope," Carlos began, "and your mother and I are both so very proud of you."_

_Tears were steadily streaming down Callie's cheeks now. The words she had so long to hear from her father meant everything to her, especially on this day._

_"Thank you Daddy, thank you so much," she said hugging him again._

_He smiled lovingly at her. "Lets get you married, mija, your beautiful bride is waiting for you."_

_Callie gave him a radiantly smile and took Carlos' offered arm, the notes of the strings playing a familiar song as she began her journey towards the women she loved, and the promise of the rest of their lives spent together._

**Present 0752**

The slight humming from the seemingly catatonic women on the bed was to much for Addison Montgomery to handle.

She recognized the song immediately, and choking back a sob she all but sprinted from the room.

Mark and Bailey shot a look at each other befoe Bailey nodded for him to follow after the red-head.

Giving Callie one last hesitant look, Mark's shoulders slumped as he turned to follow after Addison.

It was only then that Miranda Bailey aloud her wall to fall. Tears spilled over in silence, the usually stoic doctor no longer able to pretend the emotions inside weren't there.

She stared at the broken women on the bed, and her voice lowered to a quiet whisper. "I'm so sorry Torres. God knows you don't deserve this. Hell, he owes you more than a few in my book after everything he's put you through."

Bailey wiped viciously at a few offending tears and brought her hand to gently rub along Callie's leg. A soothing motion took familiar paths as she repeated the patterns she had done many times before to help ease her own son's pain.

"But don't you dare give up, you hear me," her voice taking on much more Bailey like tones now, "because that wife of yours is fighting like hell to get back to you, and I'll be damned if I'm going to sit here and just let you throw in the towel."

While Callie made no move of acknowledgement at the general surgeons words, the soft humming had stopped, and Bailey could see her eyes taking on more clarity.

"So," Bailey continued, standing from the bed, "you take some time, just not too much, because you and Robbins have a good fight ahead of you, and if what I saw yesterday was true, you two are a forced to be reckoned with when you're together. "

Wiping the last of the emotion from her cheeks, Bailey gave Callie's hand a gentle squeeze and left the room silently.

Alone in her room, Callie Torres allowed the sobs to overtake her.

* * *

A/N: I love Bailey, I mean who doesn't. I hope I did her justice. Let me know what you think - good, bad, or ugly.


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